Day 144 (Wed 5/24) sketchy humans

Drawing people accurately has always been a problem for me, so I thought I’d work on a few general shapes today. I’ve always worried too much about accuracy, I think, and used a pencil, erased, adjusted, etc… ending up with stiff-as-boards not-quite-right-humans. So today I thought I’d sketch a few people I took photos of this weekend while we were at the Hampton Roads Winery. (I took the photos specifically for this purpose!)… I didn’t allow myself near my pencil. Agh, so stressful! But a very good exercise. I’m sure if I do this more often (like, a LOT) I might get a more free feeling shape. I was avoiding faces but then went for it. My people are still stiff and choppy, but I’m pleased with my beginning results. They ended up nicer than I’d anticipated. No finished art, but good quick studies. Yes, my dog is that large. And yes, that is a goat tower. The winery boasts the tallest goat tower in Virginia. 🙂 Do you love the laughing woman and baby?? That’s my grandson, and my sister-in-law (much prettier in person), and the girl seen over and over is my granddaughter.

When you just DO things, and keep doing them… you get better at them. (duh)

Day 29: more watercolor study

I really like Peter Sheeler’s style… his quick loose sketches are exactly what watercolor is noted for AND exactly what I’m worst at (I think. I may not have found my worst yet) And I love the look. I’m going to continue to try his tutorials. There’s a lot I can learn from them. (I won’t do this every day, though… I’ll try to mix things up for you!)

I am finding that my lower grade paints and papers do not react the same way his artist grade supplies do. The end result is ok, but not the same. Some of this, I know, is skill, but since I am watching what happens as he applies the wet paint, I can see that some of it is materials. They simply act differently. I’m not prepared to drop several hundred dollars on paint. Or paper. Right now. But this is something I’ll need to adjust over time if I plan to pass a certain point, and maybe purchase even one or two colors at a time of some superior line. Regarding paper, some artists recommend purchasing student grade paper on which to learn and practice (that’s what I’ve done, and it made sense to me, since some of what I produce will be useless, and none of it will be “art” I plan to display.) Steeler suggests purchasing high quality paper from the beginning, and says you’ll have to relearn skills when upgrading from less expensive to professional paper because it feels and acts differently. This makes sense to me, too. I’ll think about it over the next few days.

These were sky studies.